When injured or in need medical attention, individuals make visits to appropriate healthcare providers. Individuals may also schedule visits to healthcare providers for routine examinations. For example, an individual may have regular wellness checks with a family practice physician and may be treated by a variety of specialists as health conditions arise. Further, the individual may make one or more visits to an emergency room when accidents occur.
Typically, upon an initial visit to a healthcare provider, the individual or a guardian for the individual is given a paper-based form to enter the individual's personal health history. The personal health history typically includes data such as types and dates of surgeries, names and types of illnesses, medications, medical history of parents and grandparents, etc. After submitting the data in the form, the healthcare provider creates a medical record for the individual.
In subsequent visits to the healthcare provider, the staff of the healthcare provider may request individuals to identify themselves, such as by providing a name or a driver's license. Using the identification, the staff finds a physical file containing the medical record and gives the file to the healthcare provider. Using the file, the healthcare provider treats the individual.
During the initial visit and subsequent visits, the healthcare provider updates the medical record to include information about the visit. Thus, the healthcare provider's medical record for the patient contains the personal health history entered on the form as well as a history of the patient's interaction with the healthcare provider.